India To Sign £500m Deal To Buy Hawk Jets

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A £500m deal for BAE Systems to supply Hawk jets is expected to be one of a string of high-profile contracts signed during the prime minister's trip to India this week. There is also likely to be a major cultural agreement involving museums.
David Cameron is taking seven cabinet ministers and a huge trade delegation with him, including representatives from BAE, Britain's biggest defence contractor, as well as from Rolls-Royce, Standard Chartered bank, construction group Balfour Beatty and the British Museum.
The prime minister wants to secure a special relationship with the emerging superpower. In a letter to the delegation, he argues that the visit is about "laying the foundations of an enhanced relationship".
He writes: "For our part, government ministers on this trip will be stressing the importance of trade and demonstrating to our Indian counterparts how Britain is open for business again. But you have a crucial role, too. In the meetings you have, the delegations you meet, places you visit, you can showcase the ingenuity and creativity our country has to offer.
"Of course, this task is not for business alone. That's why I am so pleased that representatives from the worlds of sports, culture and academia will also be joining us."
Barry Gardiner, the MP who chairs the all-party UK-India trade group, said India was embarking on a huge infrastructure programme. That could mean opportunities, "but we have to be careful that we don't end up seeing what has happened in America, where companies have been bought out by Chinese sovereign wealth funds". He also warned that India, in return, would want to win contracts from low-skilled manufacturing companies in the UK, potentially affecting jobs.
"They will come back [from the trade visit] waving contracts… But there is a danger. If they get it wrong this week we could have British companies owned in India and the loss of labour in lower-end manufacturing," he said.

A £500m deal for BAE Systems to supply Hawk jets is expected to be one of a string of high-profile contracts signed during the prime minister's trip to India this week. There is also likely to be a major cultural agreement involving museums.

David Cameron is taking seven cabinet ministers and a huge trade delegation with him, including representatives from BAE, Britain's biggest defence contractor, as well as from Rolls-Royce, Standard Chartered bank, construction group Balfour Beatty and the British Museum.

The prime minister wants to secure a special relationship with the emerging superpower. In a letter to the delegation, he argues that the visit is about "laying the foundations of an enhanced relationship".

He writes: "For our part, government ministers on this trip will be stressing the importance of trade and demonstrating to our Indian counterparts how Britain is open for business again. But you have a crucial role, too. In the meetings you have, the delegations you meet, places you visit, you can showcase the ingenuity and creativity our country has to offer.

"Of course, this task is not for business alone. That's why I am so pleased that representatives from the worlds of sports, culture and academia will also be joining us."

Barry Gardiner, the MP who chairs the all-party UK-India trade group, said India was embarking on a huge infrastructure programme. That could mean opportunities, "but we have to be careful that we don't end up seeing what has happened in America, where companies have been bought out by Chinese sovereign wealth funds". He also warned that India, in return, would want to win contracts from low-skilled manufacturing companies in the UK, potentially affecting jobs.

"They will come back [from the trade visit] waving contracts… But there is a danger. If they get it wrong this week we could have British companies owned in India and the loss of labour in lower-end manufacturing," he said.